1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a portable examination chair and, more particularly, to a light weight reclining medical examination chair that can be disassembled for transportation within a small container, and the like.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There is a continuing need for the light weight, sturdy portable medical equipment for a number of reasons. The need for portable medical equipment in the practice of military medicine is quite clear. Other fields of medical practice also have a need for strong, light weight and readily transportable equipment, too. Illustratively, mobile medical practitioners who must travel to remote rural locations in which transportation facilities are primitive have a definite need for genuinely portable examining tables, chairs, and the like.
Naturally, these examining tables and chairs should satisfy certain criteria. Thus, for example, an examining table or chair should be dismountable without the use of any tools into a compact and light weight package for movement by air, land vehicle or human portage across difficult terrain. When assembled, however, the chair or table must not only be stable, but also steady and sufficiently strong to withstand the loads imposed by patient and various examination and operative procedures. More specifically, in addition to being of low cost and light weight, a portable examining table or chair should enjoy a wide range of medical applications. Ideally, a device of this character should be usable for dental, opthalmic, obstetrical, gynecological, ear, nose and throat examinations as well as for performing minor surgery, drawing blood samples and similar medical procedures in sitting and reclining positions.
These diverse requirements, however, are difficult to reconcile. Stability in medical examination equipment, for example, frequently is obtained through the use of an heavy and massive framework, as a glance at the cast iron base of almost any dentist's chair will disclose. This approach is entirely contrary to the need for mobility and light weight. In similar manner, applicability of an examining table of this nature to a number of medical specialties and procedures would seem to imply almost necessarily somewhat ornate and massive apparatus to adapt the device to several different needs. Once more, a portable medical examining table or chair requirement would appear to conflict with other, equally important features of a fully acceptable device.
There have been a number of proposals to solve the general problem of portable furniture. Some typical patents disclosing portable furniture are:
U.S. Pat. No. 3,765,718 granted Oct. 16, 1973 to C. S. Chen for "Holding Chair",
U.S. Pat. No. 3,909,061 granted Sept. 30, 1975 to M. J. Johnson for "Portable Collapsible High Chair",
U.S. Pat. No. 4,025,107 granted May 24, 1977 to C. Chippa for "Collapsible Spoon-Bottom Chair"; and
U.S. Pat. No. 4,193,630 granted Mar. 18, 1980 to B. H. Steele for "Self Containing Collapsible High Chair".
None of these patents, however, suggest the foot and leg rests that are needed for medical examining tables and chairs, nor do these patents suggest conversion from a chair into a table in order to satisfy the needs of several different medical specialties. Consequently, there remains a requirement to provided a portable medical examining table or chair that reconciles the apparently conflicting criteria of portability and light weight vis-a-vis stability and flexibility in application.